Author: wyip

How great do you think you are at your job? How awesome are you at basketball? Soccer? Chess? Poker? Do you believe that you are better than everyone else? If so, that narcissism and ego might be the key to success.

In this episode, we hear a clip from the Bill Simmons Podcast. Who is Bill Simmons? Bill is the CEO of The Ringer – a sports and pop culture blog and podcast network and formally worked at ESPN, HBO and even wrote for Jimmy Kimmel. The clip features Scooter Braun who is an American talent manager and represents Justin Bieber, Arianna Grande, Psy and others.

Shawn and I remix this clip and share our thoughts on:

Why Shawn was skeptical about insights from Scooter Braun

What Wang thinks is the key to success (and it’s not narcissism) and he shares a story from badminton’s superstar

The situations where Shawn thinks that narcissism can work and where narcissism can’t work

Wang presents a situation comparing a team full of superstars vs. a team with only one superstar

Shawn talks about why a team full of superstars can work and presents a case with the Golden State Warriors

Why Shawn thinks that Stephen Curry is one of the greatest players of all time

The case for support players and the case with the Miami Heat when they had Lebron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade

Why narcissism just does not work in management consulting

Wang asks Shawn how many times in his life as a consultant where he does not know the answer

In terms of his future, what Shawn will take away from this episode

A story when Shawn and his friend hosted a show and were narcissistic

Interested in hearing more stories? Other things, other than basketball, that Wang has no clue about?

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Have you ever worked hard at something? Put your blood, sweat and tears into a goal. Put every free minute that you had into the idea. Worked weekends and nights to make the idea come to life. And then at the last minute, you had a decision to make – either continue with this idea, the one that you’ve spent a considerable and not insignificant amount of time, energy and effort into already or abandon it completely. What would you do?

This is exactly the situation that Andy Grove, the founder of Intel got into – he had a decision to make as Intel faced a number of competitors in the memory business (Intel was originally a manufacturer of memory and RAM). In this episode, we hear a clip about Andy Grove’s decision from Dan Heath’s podcast Choiceology – a podcast that explores how we make decisions and the hidden factors that can influence the decisions that we make and we learn:

Why Wang has so much energy?

Why Wang is so interested in decision making and what he suggests that everyone does

Why Shawn disagrees and what you should do instead

The story of how Andy Grove decided to pivot into the processor business

The question that Andy Grove asked himself and that Shawn will be stealing in his framework

The one piece of advice that Shawn gave an audience when he was asked on a panel

Why change is so difficult for organizations and the reason that organizations get disrupted

One thing at work that Wang has tried to disrupt or innovate

Some examples that Shawn has seen where organizations will quickly be disrupted but are ignoring it for now

Why Shawn thinks that the metrics for economic development is not as forward thinking as it could be

Shawn and Wang discuss crowdsourcing and freelancers and why firms are not worried about these models

Interested in new podcasts? Interested in more great stories and insights? Want to hear what Shawn and Wang talk about next? Hit subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or your favourite podcast player and leave us a rating and review!

What are your thoughts on making decisions? Do you keep a decision journal? What are the questions that you ask yourself to get yourself out of a rut? Let us know. We will make sure to feature your questions, ratings or reviews in a future episode dedicated to our listeners.

It seems quintessential these days to have a coffee in the morning. Many of my friends and coworkers cannot go through a day without coffee. But how did it get this way? How did places like Starbucks become so mainstream in our lives? A lot of it has to do with Howard Schultz – the CEO of Starbucks who saw an opportunity to bring coffee and the Italian culture of coffee into America.

In this episode, we listen to a clip from Reid Hoffman’s (Co-founder and former CEO of LinkedIn and serial entrepreneur) podcast called Masters of Scale. In the podcast, Reid interviews founders, CEOs and entrepreneurs to understand how they took their companies from zero to a gazillion.

In this episode, we remix our thoughts on:

Why Wang seems calm and confident – is it because he doesn’t drink coffee? Why doesn’t he drink coffee?

Shawn and his invincibility when he drinks coffee

Reid Hoffman’s podcast Masters of Scale and compare it to NPR’s podcasts (hey our podcast is a lot of work too!)

A story of Howard Schultz trying to break into the Chinese market and the key breakthrough moment for Starbucks

The key takeaways that Wang took away from the episode – a concept called ‘ethnographic research’

Why Wang has a huge amount of respect for CEOs who are deep in their weeds

Whether Wang knew about this key breakthrough moment beforehand

Shawn and his thoughts on how people of his similar culture would react to a Starbucks career

The failures of tech companies in China and why that might be the case

Shawn’s experience with how different cultures can affect organizations and the way they run their business – one story from UAE and a story from him trying to create the next biggest app and what he learned about teenage girls

The key takeaway for Shawn that he learned from Howard Schultz

You know the deal – subscribe, rate and review us. Comment, ask us questions and let us know what you think.

Seth Godin is one of the few people that I (Wang) would call a genius. He publishes every day on his blog (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/) and if you visit his website, it’s a picture of Seth with a single word next to it “Go”. He recently created a new podcast called “Akimbo” which is an ancient word meaning bend in the river or bend in a bow and I think it’s an awesome word that describes the force that makes things happen, which Seth is.

In this episode of the Remix Podcast, we pontificate on:

The different names that Wang has been called and how his parents came to that name

Wang’s nickname “Mr Jobs” and the story of how he got the nickname

Seth Godin tells a poetic story weaving in Google, Dropbox, Momofuku and more – and we share our key takeaways from listening to this clip

How to market in this day and age, especially given that our attention is limited and being chased by more and more companies these days

Wang shares a story about soy milk and how it came to be so popular

The Remix Podcast and how it is getting better and better every day (better content, better stories, better hosts)

Wang shares the secret to Momofuku’s success

We would love to meet some of our most devout fans and listeners! Let us know what you think about The Remix Podcast and the podcasts that we share. Do you have other podcasts that you think would be worth remixing?

We are excited to bring you another episode of The Remix where we find clips of the best podcasts, remix them with our thoughts and share them for your listening pleasure. In this episode, we listen to a clip from Neil Patel and Eric Su from a podcast called The Marketing School. Neil is a best-selling author, top influencer, and an incredible marketer. Eric is a marketer, speaker and CEO of Single Grain, a marketing agency. The Marketing School is a podcast that releases episodes every single day with actionable tips and marketing advice in each episode. Give them some love if you don’t already subscribe to their podcast.

In this episode we learn:

Why Shawn thinks that The Marketing School is an amazing podcast and how he listens to different types of podcasts

The reason why marketers do not share all of their marketing tips

The takeaways that Shawn and Wang learn including why Shawn shares his videos everywhere and why Wang still thinks that holding some secrets is still worthwhile

The parallels of keeping secrets and stand up comedy

I ask Shawn about his take on his speeches and content and how he would feel if someone stole his content without attribution

Shawn talks about the “Benjamin Button effect” – what?

What do you think? Should we be holding some secrets back? Are any ideas original? Or are all ideas just a remix of everything else? Have you heard of any good jokes about burritos? Tweet us and let us know.

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Have you ever witnessed your boss or manager doing something that you didn’t agree with? Something incredibly stupid? Made a mistake but had no idea that they did it? I certainly have. But how many of you approached your boss or manager and told them that they made a mistake? Or that they were not prepared for a meeting or presentation and that they deserved a D minus for their performance? I’m willing to bet not that many of you.

In this episode of Remix Podcast with Shawn and Wang, we hear a clip from Adam Grant’s new podcast called WorkLife where Adam Grant takes listeners into unconventional workplaces to explore the ideas that we can all use to make work more meaningful and creative. In the clip, we hear about how an employee told Ray Dalio, the founder and boss of Bridgewater Associates, the biggest hedge fund firm in the world, that he deserved a D- for his recent meeting, that he was not prepared at all and that he rambled for the whole meeting.

In this episode, we learn:

Shawn’s experience and perspective on Toastmasters, the public speaking organization

We listen to a conversation between Adam Grant and Ray Dalio about radical transparency and then battle a little bit on radical transparency

Shawn shares his philosophy of how he likes to work and how he applies radical transparency to his work

Wang explains this concept called 360 feedback and his perspective on whether it is being adopted

Shawn talks about how he conducts 360 feedback with his team

Shawn shares a personal story about Adam Grant and his ubiquity

Shawn and Wang discuss whether feedback is important – how do you filter out good and bad feedback? Do you need to follow any feedback at all or choose your own path?

Wang shares a story about Ray Dalio’s beginnings and why going bankrupt was the best thing that happened to him

Shawn counters with a story about Dropbox’s beginnings and what Steve Jobs told Drew Houston (Dropbox’s founder)

In the light of radical transparency, Wang provides some feedback to Shawn: “[removing] crutch words is that extra polish for speeches”

Wang shares a tip on removing crutch words

Does Shawn speak too quickly in his videos? Shawn shares a time when he noticed how quick he was speaking

Shawn also provides some feedback to Wang: “be a dick!”

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What do you think about radical transparency? Do you have feedback for us? What do you think about The Remix? Hate the podcast clips? Hate the hosts (no that can’t be it)? Tweet us!

People sometimes say that life is like a game of chess. Annie Duke, a former professional poker player wrote a book called “Thinking in Bets” where she postulates that life is more like a game of poker.

In this episode, we hear a clip from the James Altucher show where James is talking to Annie Duke about her recent book “Thinking in Bets”. Annie Duke is a former professional poker player and was one of the best in the world, having won a World Series of Poker bracelet and winning multiple tournaments. Her book “Thinking in Bets” is one of the best books that I (Wang) have read in recent years and in this episode, we talk about some of the key takeaways of the book and other fascinating subjects such as:

Why Wang enjoys getting together with Shawn

Shawn and Wang think about how they first heard of James Altucher

Shawn and Wang laugh about 50 cent’s decision to sell his album through bitcoin

“Wanna bet?” – why this question can help us make better decision

We hear a clip from Annie Duke on the James Altucher show about Ryan Holiday and getting inspired from Ryan Holiday’s work

Do risks and uncertainty hinder action from decision makers? Shawn and Wang shares their thoughts on this question

Wang shares a story from the book about the Seahawks vs. Patriots Superbowl play made by Pete Caroll

The concept of ‘resulting’ and why it’s not the right way to make or justify a decision

Wang shares a concept called Plus Minus Equals from James Altucher and Shawn talks about why he disagrees with this and what to do instead

We switch into the topic of management and team leadership – Shawn and Wang share their thoughts on the traits of good managers and leaders

Want to learn more about how we think about managing, leading, consulting, innovation and strategy? Does Shawn secretly hate James Altucher? Let us know on Twitter. And if you’re looking for more insights from Shawn and Wang, DM @wangyip with your e-mail to subscribe to The Remix newsletter – it’s where we take the best articles, quotes and stories we have heard and share them with you.

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Beats? Do you own a pair of earbuds or headphones by Beats? Why did you buy it? Was it because of the audio? The brand? Is it a fashion statement for you? Whatever the reason, Beats is incredibly successful, having been acquired by Apple in 2014 for $3 billion dollars. How did it start? What problem was the company trying to solve?

In this episode, Shawn and Wang discuss a clip that talks about Beats’ origin and the problem it was trying to solve from the Acquired podcast, a podcast where technology M&As, IPOs, startups and VCs are explored one exit at a time. Here’s a snippet of the things that Shawn and Wang remix their thoughts on:

Wang’s depressing taste in music and why he does not listen to a lot of music (and Shawn believes that fewer and fewer people are listening to music as well)

Shawn’s thoughts on the Beats company and why it was so successful. Shawn also shares a story about why he owns Beats headphones.

We learn how Beats was started by Dre and Jimmy and how Dre and Jimmy found an opportunity in the market for headphones

Shawn dissects the reasons why Jimmy and Dre would start Beats when both have already been uber-successful

Wang tries to convince Shawn that it’s not as crazy as it sounds

The two key takeaways that Wang took away from the clip

Shawn talks about the one trait (not the only trait) that successful entrepreneurs share

Shawn and Wang talk about some of the products today where there might be opportunities to turn them into fashion statements

Do you own a Beats product? Why did you buy it? Do you have a beach house that we could run by? Let us know on Twitter! We love to hear from our listeners. Interested in more? DM @wangyip with your e-mail to subscribe to The Remix newsletter.

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We received some amazing feedback on our three clip episode (episode 10 – listen to it if you haven’t already) and we’ll look to incorporate more multi-clip episodes in the future!

In the meantime, we dive deep into a clip from Cal Fussman’s Big Questions podcast where he talks to Seth Godin. Seth Godin is the author of 18 books, founder of Yoyodyne and Squidoo and is a legendary marketer (in fact, he is in the marketing hall of fame because he is so amazing). In this episode, we discuss:

Why Wang listens to so many podcasts and how Shawn finds new podcasts to listen to for The Remix

Shawn and Wang tell the backstory of “The Dip”, their previous podcast, and how it relates to Seth Godin, resulting in Wang e-mailing Seth directly

We hear Seth’s thoughts on the evolution of scarcity through analogies in paper and books, and vinyl and music, and how it applies to podcasts and media today

Shawn shares his attention philosophy and what it means for future entrepreneurs / content creators

Wang notes that Shawn’s idea is very similar to one of Seth’s books – find out which one and the key takeaways from the book

Shawn and Wang share their thoughts on what the ideal audience member looks like for The Remix with Shawn and Wang

Information is available everywhere and talent is available everywhere, but what does this mean for consulting firms? Wang shares his thoughts on what the role of consultants will be in the future

Shawn shares a billion dollar idea related to podcasts and audio

Wang shares not quite a billion dollar idea but a thousand dollar idea related to podcasts

Need a business idea? Want to hear more insights from the brilliant mind of Shawn and the okay mind of Wang? Have follow-up questions? Tweet us on Twitter and let us know your thoughts.

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Imagine that you are the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company. You are raking in profits like snow falling on a winter Edmonton’s day. You have sold millions and millions of books. A competitor now comes up trying to disrupt you – they also have a book, but it’s more expensive and it does not have any writing in it – it does not cater at all to the reader. You laugh at the competitor and think that in a few years, they will have to go back to the drawing board.

Years later, you realize only a little too late that this is what customers actually wanted. Only it’s not books, it’s a smartphone. And the new competitor is Apple with their iPhone.

In this episode, we hear a clip from Freakonomics from their CEO series and we discuss:

Where else will you get a three times return on your listening investment? The Remix Podcast with Shawn and Wang!

Wang talks about the time when he saw Steve Ballmer in a meme video

the Freakonomics podcast and the CEO series

Wang shares his thoughts on what Steve Ballmer said

Why it is difficult to predict disruption and innovation and Shawn shares his thoughts on why Microsoft was slow to innovate

Wang’s suggestion on how to innovate

Wang asks Shawn – if the Microsoft CEO came to him and asked him how to completely disrupt Microsoft’s business, what would Shawn recommend?

Shawn asks Wang what he has learned from the CEO series of podcasts on Freakonomics and Wang shares what he has learned from Indra Nooyi – the CEO of Pepsi Co

Do Indians need to sleep?

Shawn makes a surprising observation about the CEOs on Freakonomics

Shawn and Wang talk about the importance of diversity on boards and in companies

What do you think about the CEO series in Freakonomics?

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